In an effort to curb harmful stereotypes and aggressive behavior influence by violent video content among minors, the Victorias City government inked a partnership with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to strengthen responsible viewership on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez emphasized that MTRCB’s vision in building more informed, compassionate, and enlightened communities and a nation of media-literate individuals who can effectively analyze, discern, and engage with various media content is aligned with the city’s promotion of Digital Democracy in revolutionizing services, making it more accessible, convenient and faster.
“All of us are called to become vanguards of our communities, guiding our children and members of our family and community to be conscious viewers who can scrutinize and properly immerse in the media content they encounter daily, so that they may become efficient leaders of our city when their time comes,” Benitez said.
The ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement was spearheaded by Benitez along with the city officials and MTRCB’s Chairperson Diorella Maria Sotto-Antonio and the rest of the members of the board of directors.
“Every click, every scroll, and every play button is a choice,” Benitez said, as he stressed the roles of parents and the educational sector in guiding children in consuming TV and cellular phone media content.
Despite the agency’s limited jurisdiction over online streaming platforms, Sotto-Antonio stressed that ensuring safe and responsible viewership is a whole-of- nation approach.
She said through the “Responsabling Panonood” roadshow seminar they can disseminate measures to parents, teachers and supervising adults.
Aside from the responsible viewership campaign, MTRCB is also conducting seminars with artists, producers and content creators to encourage them to produce values and family oriented films and video content through the “Responsabling Paglikha” program.
Sotto-Antonio urged the LGUs to further enhance the campaign via film festivals just like the recent Bacolod Film Festival.
She also encouraged the city council to pass a resolution adapting the agency’s campaign from the schools to the barangays of the city.
“We are really trying so hard to preserve the values and culture of the Filipino family,” she said.*